Russia's Bridge to Crimea Heavily Damaged...Again...by Ukrainian Attack

Ukraine claimed responsibility for an attack early Monday that caused significant damage to the Kerch Strait Bridge linking Russia’s Taman Peninsula in Krasnodar Krai Oblast with occupied Crimea.

Ukraine’s minister for digital transformation later said that the bridge was struck by “naval drones.”

“Today the Crimean bridge was blown up by naval drones,” Mykhailo Fedorov said on Telegram on Monday “It is better to act, not to reveal photos of our own production facilities and to supply the defense forces,” Fedorov said.

Two people were killed and their daughter wounded in the attack, according to Russian-appointed officials.

The attack was carried out by Unmanned Surface Vehicles—the first hit at around 3 a.m., followed by a second explosion at about 3:20 a.m.

KERCH BRIDGE ATTACK: UKR's strike likely utilized a 2nd Generation variant of UKR's Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV). Damage to the road-spans suggest that the attacking USVs carried approx. 1000 lbs (453 Kg) of explosive configured as a linear shaped charge. The USVs were detonated… pic.twitter.com/2uEzWGAShL

— Chuck Pfarrer | Indications & Warnings | (@ChuckPfarrer) July 17, 2023

According to unrelated imagery, the attacks seem to have been launched from Snake Island.

**Unidentified Surface Vessels**
Spotted on 10M📷 from 16 July 2023. 4x unidentified fast boats ~75km SE of Snake Island. Nothing definitive but the grouping and the direction of travel are interesting based on recent events. Any thoughts from the experts @FouthTimeLucky? pic.twitter.com/7WLR9BR196

— MT Anderson (@MT_Anderson) July 17, 2023

It was preceded by a significant Ukrainian UAV/USV attack on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet home port of Sevastopol, an event that has happened several times; see Ukraine Carries out Extensive Drone Attack on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet Sevastopol Homeport.

Sevastopol was attacked by Ukrainian kamikaze unmanned vehicles earlier this morning.

Russia says the combined attack of 7 UAVs and 2 USVs was repelled by air defense forces and the fleet without material damage. pic.twitter.com/aFHH8YvXoN

— Clash Report (@clashreport) July 16, 2023

The Damage

After the attack, photography indicates a significant level of damage. One support pier and the attached roadway were destroyed.

The aftermath of the Crimean bridge explosion. Pro-Kremlin publication Readkovka reported that the strike caused one support pillar and two spans to collapse. pic.twitter.com/K8V6lOBcra

— Meduza in English (@meduza_en) July 17, 2023

Burn marks under the bridge are pretty good indications that it was an explosion under the bridge, making an attack by naval USVs very likely.

It also appears that aside from the collapsed span the other car bridge is also compromised. Unless your car is waterproof I wouldn’t… pic.twitter.com/lxLM6NdQel

— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) July 17, 2023

According to Russia’s Vice-Prime Minister, as reported in Russian media, one vehicle lane cannot be repaired.

Russian vice-PM Khusnullin reported to Putin about the state of the damaged Kerch Bridge. Putin took careful notes.

According to Khusnullin,

◾️ One structure of the vehicle part is destroyed and cannot be repaired. One railway track is slightly damaged.

◾️ Two way traffic is… pic.twitter.com/ahlQsPRWCV

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) July 17, 2023

Traffic is one way with the direction of flow rotated.

Russian media publish a video of "restored traffic" on the Kerch Bridge: only one lane, only several cars are allowed at one time at minimal speed. pic.twitter.com/Jb6SCb8wPL

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) July 18, 2023

The Impact

The immediate impact was on Russian civilian traffic trying to reach, or leave, Crimea. Russian authorities requested that civilian traffic use the “land bridge” to give priority to Russian military traffic.

Russian Media is urging Residents to take the “Land-Bridge” Route if they are planning a Trip soon to or from the Crimean Peninsula. pic.twitter.com/WeiF6sdyMf

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) July 17, 2023

According to Google Maps, the traffic jam of those trying to leave crimea has reached 10 kilometers.

Russian Hospitality Union reports that at least 50,000 tourists are currently in Crimea and most of them arrived on their personal vehicles. pic.twitter.com/MrIFlDrhbc

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) July 17, 2023

This is the second major attack on the Kerch Strait Bridge. On October 8, 2022, the entire bridge was temporarily disabled by a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device.

Better footage of the explosion on #Crimea Bridge.#Russian says is was a fuel tanker, some say it was Ukraine strike.#Crimea #Fire #Russia #Ukraine #Kerch #crimeabridge #RussiaIsLosing pic.twitter.com/io2yfJeEB5

— Prateek Pratap Singh (@PrateekPratap5) October 8, 2022

Why It Matters

One of the unique features of the war in Ukraine is the constrained supply routes available to the Russian military, particularly those available to supply Russian forces and civilians in Occupied Kherson and Occupied Crimea. Supplies can come by the so-called “land bridge” from Rostov-on-Don, paralleling the Azov Sea. They can come across the Kerch Strait Bridge. Or they can come by sea into underdeveloped ports in Crimea. This attack has nearly shut down one-third of those routes.

After the last attack, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu distributed this infographic depicting how Russia now had an ironclad defensive shield around the Krerch Strait Bridge.

Do you remember? It was #Shoygu published visualization of the #CrimeaBridge after it was 💥 in Oct 2022. Effective? pic.twitter.com/Wm0Ji9wlpl

— JR2 (@JanR210) July 17, 2023

It is now apparent that very little was done to increase the bridge’s defenses.

Ukraine will have weapons systems that can hit the bridge in the next three to four months. When that happens, the ability of the Russians to supply and defend Occupied Crimea and Occupied Kherson becomes problematic.